The Only Thing He Could Give
by flyersfan3588
Summary: Set near the beginning of Season 2 Booth gives Bones a Christmas present.
1. Chapter 1

**This is actually the first story I ever wrote for Bones. I know it's kind of a Christmas story, and it's June, but I figure we all could use a little snow right now! (It's 90 degrees today here). Anyway, this started out to be a two-shot, but I added a couple chapters. Let me know what you think! **

**btw, obviously, this happened before the second half of Season 2.**

The Christmas music playing in the background was a beautiful backdrop to the snow falling down outside in the crisp DC air, but to Dr Temperence Brennan, nothing penetrated her concentration, leaning over the table, studying a partial skeleton.

"C'mon Bones, it's Christmas Eve! This guy's been dead 100's of years. Theres got to be somewhere you'd rather be." Booth knew that Bones didn't celebrate Christmas, but she spent too much time in the lab as it was. She needed to go home, and try to get some Christmas spirit.

"He's right sweetie", Angela chimed in. "Last Christmas we were stuck here by force. You don't really want to be here this year by choice, do you?"

"Yeah, let's get out of here before Zack and Hodgins cook up another contamination." Booth was never going to let those two forget that they completely ruined his Christmas last year. Never mind the fact that Booth himself had brought in the body that had contaminated the lab, causing the five of them, and Dr. Goodman, to be quarentined for Christmas.

"Zack already left to go spend the holidays with his family in Michigan", Tempe said. "And Hodgins is..."

"...Right here.". Hodgins came walking up, coat slung over his shoulder. "What's up?"

"We were just reminiscing about our "wonderful" Christmas last year." Booth said sarcastically.

"Booth, it really wasn't all that terrible, was it?" Angela had to admit that, aside from not being with her father, it really was kind of fun.

"Besides", said Tempe, "didn't you tell me that Zack made you the coolest dad ever with the robot he made for you to give Parker?"

"Okay, fine, it was the greatest Christmas ever, can we just get out of here?"

"I think that's our cue, Angela." Hodgins grabbed her hand, and started pulling her toward the door.

"What about you, sweetie? Are you going to see Russ?"

Brennan looked up, a brief flash of pain in her eyes. "There was some sort of problem with his parole and he can't come."

"But sweetie..."

"Don't worry. I'm just going to finish this up, then I'll go home."

"Promise?"

"Of course Angela." Brennan really just wanted everyone to leave so that she could lose herself in her work.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure she gets out of here soon." This from Booth, who had a certain gleam in his eye.

"Okay. Merry Christmas everyone!"

"Bye Angela, Hodgins. Merry Christmas."

"Bones, I'm surprised." Booth said when they were alone. "I thought you didn't believe Christmas."

"I don't have to believe in it, as long as they do." She glanced at him. "Are you going to see Parker tomorrow?"

"Actually, Rebecca is letting me have him for Christmas Eve and morning this year, so I've got to get going." Booth turned and started walking toward the door. "Thirty minutes, Bones!" "Don't make me check up on you!"

Tempe watched him go, thinking that everyone had somewhere to go, and someone to see, except her. Not that she minded being alone, but...

She turned back to her work, putting everything else out of her mind. This was all she needed, she thought. Some mystery to solve, some bones to put together. She was so engrossed in her work, that she didn't hear the soft footsteps behind her.

"Marco," a voice said softly. Temperence looked up, surprise on her face, to see her brother. "Polo," she answered.  
"What are you doing here? I thought there was some problem, and they wouldn't let you leave?"

"Apparently a certain FBI Agent made a call, and here I am!"

Tempe smiled to herself as she hugged her brother. Leave it to Booth to know exactly what she needed.

BBBBBB

Booth watched from the shadows as Bones greeted her brother. He was glad she had someone to share the holiday with, even if it wasn't with him. Nobody should be alone for Christmas. He remembered last year, when she stood in the shadows watching as everyone had visits from their loved ones. Everyone except her. She'd come a long way since then. They both had. He was glad that she had a second chance with her brother, and he was proud that he had a small part in that.

He turned to go, a smile on his lips. He wondered what she would say when she found the gift he had left for her. Whatever she thought, he knew that she wouldn't hesitate to let him know.

**If you review, I'll post more later!**


	2. Chapter 2

**You guys are so nice!! Thanks for the reviews, and here is the next chapter, as promised!**

"Give me 5 minutes, Russ, then I'll be ready. I just have to put some things away." As she walked to her office, she thought about how different this Christmas was from last Christmas. Last year, she was surrounded by people, but she never felt more alone. Especially when everyone had visits from their loved ones. No one knew how badly her heart had ached, watching, but not being able to participate. But Booth knew. He knew her almost better than she knew herself. Their relationship had grown so much in the past year.

Her thoughts stopped as she walked into her office and saw the package lying on her desk. She knew who had left it for her. It was just like Booth to give her a gift when he knew she didn't believe in gift giving. She sat down and picked up the package. She carefully untied the ribbon, and took off the paper. She lifted the lid of the box, and smiled.

Her thoughts drifted to their first case together, trying to find the murderer of a young senatorial aide. She had shot the killer in the leg in self defense. Her mind went through case after case, so many in just a small amount of time. Then to one of the more recent ones, where she saved Booth's life, and a young girls' life, shooting and killing Howard Epps' accomplice. The giving of this gift meant he trusted her to do the right thing. He knew her, knew she was strong, that she didn't always need to be protected. More than that, it meant he was willing to give up something of himself for her. This gift touched her heart more than anything he could have said or done.

"Hey Tempe, are you coming?" Russ' voice brought her out of her reminiscing.

"Just opening a gift from Booth."

Russ walked over to her, looking over her shoulder. "It's a piece of paper." He looked more closely. "A gun permit? Why do you want a gun permit? And why would Booth give you that for Christmas?"

Brennan looked at Russ with unshed tears shining in her eyes. "It's the only thing he could give me."

Christmas Afternoon

"I thought I'd find you here." Brennan sat down beside Booth at the counter at Wong Foo's.

Booth smiled at her. "Merry Christmas Bones."

"I wanted to thank you for making sure Russ could be here for Christmas with me. You didn't have to do that."

"Yes I did. Everyone should be with family for Christmas. Even if they don't believe in it. Besides, I wanted to do it for you."

Brennan took out the gun permit, and slid it across the counter. "Why did you do it?"

Booth looked up at her. He couldn't believe that she can't see it in his eyes, the reason behind everything he does. He didn't want to do it, he has such a strong need to protect her, but it's what she wanted. It made her happy, and that's all the reason he needs. The truth is, she doesn't need him, at least most of the time. She is strong enough on her own. He wouldn't want it any other way, wouldn't want to change her. But it would be nice if she could lean on him once in awhile. But he can't tell her that, can't let her know the real reason. So he tries a lie he hopes she will believe. "You saved my life. I figured you deserved it."

She knows that's not the reason, but she accepts the lie. She doesn't want to admit these feelings, feelings that are more than friendship. She can't handle that right now, and she doesn't want to mess up what they have. She can't say the words, but she can do something, something so he will know just how much he means to her. She picks up the paper, rips it in half, and lays it back down in front of him. "My Christmas present to you Booth."

"Why did you do that?!" He's confused. She badgered him about getting a gun almost daily for the last year.

Brennan looked deep into his eyes, and smiled. "Because I don't need one. I have you. You're my gun. You shoot em', I cuff em'. Right?"

Booth looked at her, and smiled. She made another joke. Someday, real soon, he's going to have to tell her. But for now, he can just enjoy being her partner, her friend, and part of her family.

**Okay, I'm not sure she would ever do that, but I thought it was sweet, so I went with it! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks everyone for your comments, and to you, mecedeme and redrider6612, for pointing out my tense mistakes. I wrote this in December of last year, and when I posted here, I didn't bother to proofread (my bad), so thanks! Hopefully I fixed everything!**

"I don't need one. You're my gun. You shoot 'em, I cuff 'em. Right?"  
Booth looked into her eyes. The emotions he saw there took his breath away. He reached his hand forward and brushed her cheek lightly. Sudden desire flared in her eyes, and he couldn't hold back any longer. He leaned forward and and brushed his lips against hers. Time stood still. His fingers moved up into her hair as she deepened the kiss. She pulled away at the ringing of his cell phone. Why hadn't he turned it off, or thrown it out the window. He reached out to her, but the phone rang again.

Booth opened his eyes to the darkness of his bedroom. He reached for the phone, and looked at the caller id. Cullen. Great, now what? Booth tried to shake off thoughts of the dream while he wrote down details and an address. It had been 2 months since that Christmas Day at Sid's, and he still couldn't get it out of his mind. What if it had happened that way? Would she have kissed him back or would she have pulled away? Would she have given in to her feelings, or would she continue to be the rational scientist? Booth didn't know. The only thing he did know is that he couldn't deny it any longer. He wasn't sure how it happened, but he was totally, completely in love with Temperence Brennan.

Cam watched Booth walk into the Jeffersonian. She had no illusions that he was coming to see her, even though they had been seeing each other for quite awhile. His thoughts were always on Dr. Brennan. Even when he was with her, she knew he was thinking about "his Bones".

When their relationship had started up again, they had both agreed it was just for fun. But now, she wanted more, and she knew that she wouldn't get that from Seeley. He could deny it, but it didn't change the fact that he wanted Brennan.

Booth walked into the room. "Hey Cam."

She sighed. It was now or never. "Seeley, we need to talk."

At that moment, Angela walked up. "Booth, thank goodness you're here. Brennan's been in her office for over an hour. She said she's working, but I just know something's wrong."

"Cam, I'll talk to you later." Booth started walking towards Bones' office. He was worried. Ever since her father and brother had left, she hadn't been quite herself.

"No Seeley. I need to talk to you now. It will only take a few minutes." Cam pulled him into her office and shut the door.

Booth looked at her impatiently. "Okay, Camille. What do you need?"

"I think we should end this, Seeley."

Booth looked at her. He was not expecting this. "Look Cam..."

"Seeley, when we started this we both agreed that it wasn't going to lead anywhere. Now I'm feeling that I want something more." She held up her hand when he saw that he was about to interrupt. "I know that you don't feel that way about me. It's okay, really." She gave him a brief hug. "Just do me a favor, okay? Stop denying your feelings, and tell her."

He just shook his head. "Cam, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Seeley, everyone knows how you feel about Brennan. Even a blind person would know." She gave him a smile.

"Camille..." Booth paused. She was right. Didn't he just decide himself that he needed to stop denying his feelings? "Thanks Cam."  
He walked out the door, and felt as if a weight was lifted from his shoulders. He still didn't know what he was going to do, but he wouldn't have to worry about hurting Cam. Now he just needed to find out what was wrong with Bones.

He walked into her darkened office, to find her sitting on the sofa, looking at a sheet of paper.

He tried to keep his voice light. "Hey Bones. What's up?"

She looked up, and he saw something in her eyes, something he couldn't immediately identify. He went to her, and looked into her eyes. "Temperence, what's wrong?"

She looked away, then handed him the paper she had been reading, along with an envelope. "I just got a letter from my father. I thought maybe you could see if you can get any hint of where he is from the postmark or something."

"Bones..."

"He says he's okay, not to worry. Like I would actually worry about him. He obviously can take care of himself. If anyone comes after him, he'll just kill them, put them on a pole, and burn them."

"Temperence, come on. You know that's not really how you feel." He laid his hand on her arm, but she pulled away.

She got up and walked away. "I'm sorry." she said softly. " I shouldn't have asked you to let him go. You should have taken him when you had the chance."

"Bones, you didn't ask me. I had a choice. I would never have shot your father."

"You wouldn't have let any other murderer get away. We both know that." She shook her head. "I was weak." She said this so quietly, he wasn't sure he heard her correctly. "I could've taken him. I let him get away."

"Bones, you can't do this to yourself. He shouldn't have put you in that position. He's your father. He loves you, and you love him. You did what anyone would have done." He walked to her and turned her to face him. He saw the tears falling from her eyes, and all he wanted to do was to hold her in his arms and take away all her pain. She had had so much pain in her life. She didn't deserve any more. And he couldn't stand to see her this way. This wasn't his Bones. His Bones would be angry, fighting, ready to tackle this case, not quiet and resigned. This was a stranger. He reached out and brushed a tear from her cheek.

"I don't want you to put your job in jeopardy for me Booth. You've done it before, but you shouldn't have. I'm not worth it."

Booth felt anger flare up in him to hear those words. "Don't ever say that! You are worth more than anything, and I would gladly give up my job or my life for you, Temperence." He was terribly afraid of the despair in her voice. "You are worth so much more than you know."

"Booth, I.., I'm sorry." She heard the anger in his voice, and felt guilty. "I'm okay, really. I didn't mean that the way it sounded." She didn't mean to hurt him, but she knew she had. She was just upset, reading those words from her father. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Just promise me that you'll try to trace him with the letter, okay?"

He saw the change in her eyes and her voice. She sounded a little bit more like the old Bones. "Okay."

She smiled and started to walk towards the door. "I really should get back to work."

"I'll check on this and get back to you. I'll bring Wong Foo's over tonight, and we'll figure out where to go from here, okay?"

"Don't you have any other dinner plans, Booth? Better than sitting around with a boring forensic anthropologist trying to cheer her up?" She said this in a teasing manner, and he felt better just to hear her words.

"There's nowhere I'd rather be."


	4. Chapter 4

**Last chapter. I'm really glad you enjoyed this fic. I know it was kind of short, but it only started out to be a one shot originally. Thanks once again to all of the wonderful people who read and reivew! Love the comments!**

Brennan shut the apartment door behind her. She loved her job, and usually spent too much time in the lab, but today she was just happy to be home. The letter from her father, her conversation with Booth, it all made for a stressful day. She was looking forward to dinner. She knew that no matter what her worries were, being with Booth would always comfort her. She didn't like feeling out of control, and she didn't like depending on anyone, but the fact was, being with Booth made her feel like she was special, like she was important.

She had never had a relationship like the one she shared with Booth. He was her best friend, and her tormentor. He was her partner. He picked her up when she was down, but he didn't hesitate to let her know when he thought she was wrong. He was, well, Booth, and she couldn't imagine life without him. And that scared her more than anything. She didn't want to have to depend on anyone. But the truth was, she would have never gotten through the last year without him. He was always there for her, always knew the right thing to say.

She hadn't wanted to let him in. She had kept her distance, conversing only when they had a case together. She wasn't sure when that had changed, only that it had, and now she was vulnerable. She couldn't imagine her life without him, and caring for him left her wide open to pain and sorrow. That was why she had never let anyone get too close. Since she lost her parents and Russ, she never wanted to put herself in a position to feel the pain and loss of those she loved leaving her. She knew that it was irrational, that everyone needed someone to care about, but it didn't change the way she felt.

Then she met Angela, and she let her in. Now Booth. He had pushed his way into her life, her heart, and now she couldn't let go. She didn't want to. And she wasn't sure what to do about it. He was with Cam. She couldn't tell him how she felt, but she didn't know how long she could go without telling him. Sometimes when she was with him, she wanted so much to say the words that were in her heart. But she couldn't.

A knock at the door brought her out of her thoughts. When she opened the door, Booth looked at her closely. He was still worried about her, but he was happy to see that she looked more like herself, not the broken woman he had seen that morning in her office.

They ate in silence, but it was a comfortable silence. That was the one thing about being with Bones. It was never awkward. When they were finished, Brennan sat back and looked at him.  
"Did they find anything?"

"Not yet. There's a lot of things going on down there right now, and it's not a high priority."

"Not a high priority?! Booth, he killed two people, and we let him go!"

"Look, Bones, don't okay? Don't blame yourself. I told you, I did what I had to do. For myself as much as for you. When I heard you call my name, I knew what you wanted me to do, and I knew what it cost you to ask me. I couldn't have shot an unarmed man. I thought you knew me better than that."

"Booth, I didn't mean it that way. I know you couldn't."

"Bones, how about we make a deal. You let me worry about your dad, and you just continue to do your 'squint stuff'."

Brennan hid a smile. "You can be so infuriating sometimes."

"That's the pot calling the kettle black."

She shook her head. "I don't know what that means."

Booth smiled. "It means that you can be just as stubborn as me, Bones."

"Oh. Okay." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Booth, promise me something, okay? Promise me that you'll keep looking. This isn't like removing my earring from a crime scene. He murdered those people. Promise me that you'll do the right thing."

His heart ached to hear the pain in her voice when she talked about her father. "I promise." He would have promised her anything when she looked at him like that.

They were silent for a moment.

"I hope you didn't change any plans to be here tonight, Booth. I'm really okay."

"No. No plans."

"Not even with Cam? It's Friday night, and I just thought..."

There was something in her voice when she said that. It sounded like, what? Jealousy? Get a grip, Booth. Just wishful thinking. "I'm not seeing Cam anymore, Bones."

"You're not? But I thought..." Her heart started beating faster in her chest. "Why not?"

Booth looked at her. She was so beautiful, but it was more than that, much more. She was fire and ice, strong yet vulnerable, book smart but so lacking in social skills. She was all these things, and so frustrating and rational. But he loved her just the way she was. He would never want her to change.

This was it. It was now or never. He had to tell her.  
"I'm in love with someone else." The words were out, there was no going back. "She's beautiful, strong, independent, stubborn, opinionated, and frustrating. And she's smart, sometimes I think she's too smart for her own good."

Brennan was afraid to move, afraid to breathe. Was he talking about her, or was she just hearing what she wanted to hear?  
"She doesn't sound like an easy person to love" she whispered.

"Actually, falling in love with her was the easiest thing I've ever done. She's all these things and more to me, and I would never want to change her. I wouldn't want her any other way."  
Booth took her face in his hands, and looked deep into her eyes. "I don't know when or how it happened, Temperence, but I'm in love with you. And I couldn't wait another minute to let you know."

Brennan saw the truth in his eyes. She couldn't believe how lucky she was, to be loved, and loved so completely that he accepted her as she was, with all her faults.  
"Seeley, I.."

Booth saw all her emotions reflected in her eyes. "I know." He leaned toward her.

"No, let me say this. You are so important to me. You forced you way into my life, my heart. I didn't want to let you in. But you didn't give up. And I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for being my friend, my partner, my family." She took a deep breath. "I love you Seeley."

His heart skipped a beat at her words. It seemed like it had taken them forever to get here, but he wouldn't trade a minute of what they had shared. His lips touched hers softly. It was everything he imagined, and so much more. She put her arms around him, and pulled him to her, deepening the kiss. Her hands moved under his shirt, caressing the hard muscles of his back. He moaned, the feeling of her hands on his skin setting him on fire. He broke the kiss, and looked down into her eyes. "Temperance..."

She stared up at him, missing the feeling of his lips on hers, his body pressed against her. "Booth, please..."

Her throaty whisper made his body instantly hard. "Temperance, are you sure?"

She stood up and took his hand, pulling him towards the bedroom. "I'm sure" she whispered, and he needed no other invitation.

Later...

Booth was lying in bed, Temperence in his arms. He was watching her sleep. He couldn't imagine anything better than this. This was where he wanted to stay. She stirred in his arms. Her eyes opened, and she looked at him. He thought he saw something in her eyes, that she felt the same way, that she wasn't thinking of anything except staying here with him. He should have known better.

She smiled. "Booth, I've been thinking. Now can I have a gun?"

He sighed. Leave it to Bones. "No, you can't have a gun."

"But you were going to let me have one before."

"You gave it back to me. You don't want to be an indian giver, do you?"

Brennan looked at him curiously. "I don't know what that means."

Booth smiled. That was his Bones. "I know you don't. That's why I love you."

**Okay, you know what you need to do! Reviews are my life, and if you're nice, I may start to post another story later.**


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